Mission of the Community Advisory Board

Community advisory board members are working together to develop guidelines for community businesses to follow in developing promotions, discounts and opportunities in order to be 5th Gear Kids™ Community Partners. These guidelines will provide criteria for businesses to ensure that “the healthy choice” is an affordable and appealing option. In addition, advisory board members consider appropriate businesses and contacts for our program developers to approach to maintain the mission of 5th Gear Kids™. Board members provide recommendations for partnerships, grant opportunities and broadening community awareness. As 5th Gear Kids™ becomes an established part of our community, the advisory board will guide further development in the community and businesses.

Board Members

Dan Feiten, MD

Dr. Feiten is the co-founder of Greenwood Pediatrics, a 22-provider practice in Denver, Colorado. He serves as the representative of the Colorado American Academy of Pediatrics for the Fit Family Challenge, a state-wide initiative to assist primary care doctors in addressing the challenges of childhood obesity. A Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Dr. Feiten is the recipient of the pediatric department’s Career Teaching Scholar Award. He is the President of Pediatric Web, Inc, a web development firm that services over 1,000 pediatricians, family physicians and hospitals.

Jacqueline R. Berning, PhD, RD, CSSD

Dr. Berning’s education includes a B.S. in Clinical Dietetics, an M.S. in Exercise Physiology and her Ph.D. in Nutrition from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado. She is a Professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where she teaches nutrition and Chairs the Biology Department in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Dr. Berning has received numerous teaching and service awards.

Her expertise is in sports nutrition and teaching students and athletes how to make wise food choices for increased performance. She worked with collegiate athletes at the University of Colorado (Boulder) for more than 20 years and the Denver Broncos for over 25 years. Currently, Jackie is the sports dietitian for the Cleveland Indians and the Colorado Rockies, teaching young baseball players about wise food choices. Previously, Dr. Berning was the Nutrition Coordinator for United States Swimming. She planned menus for the National and Olympic Teams and taught nutrition to swimmers, coaches and their parents at the Olympic Training Center.

Dr. Berning is a well-published author in the field of nutrition for sports and exercise. She is also active in SCAN, a Dietetic Practice Group that specializes in Sports and Cardiovascular Nutrition and is a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD). She is a member of the American Dietetic Association and the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Berning was a volunteer National Media Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association for over 6 years where she conducted numerous media interviews.

Jackie lives in Castle Rock, Colorado with her husband Bruce and enjoys walking, hiking, gardening, and watching her 2 athletic sons compete.

Barbara Ladon

Throughout her career, Barbara Ladon has been committed to developing, implementing and improving access to quality health care services. By building constituencies across business, not-for-profit organizations and the public sector, Ms. Ladon translates complex system needs into successful, results-oriented programs. She has a keen ability to conceptualize and identify opportunities, build and motivate strong teams and implement solutions to ensure desired results.

Currently, Barbara Ladon is a Chief Operating Officer and a principal in the firm ArpegioHealth, LLC providing strategic planning, business and policy development to local, regional and national health care and human service organizations.

In 1997, prior to the development of her consulting firm, Barbara launched Colorado’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHP+) as it’s founding Director. In that capacity, she managed a $70 million annual budget and directed operations, incorporating best practices from the business/forprofit sector. In the 1980’s, she acquired HealthPro, a utilization and data management company, transforming it into an award-winning employer while quadrupling revenue and adding new product lines including programs focusing on behavioral health, physical health and workers compensation. In 1992, she sold the company to United Health Care; and joined them as Vice-President responsible for expanding the public sector market. She consulted extensively with senior state government officials nationwide on health policy issues and the design of care management programs focusing on Medicaid, public purchasing pools and Medicare.

Skip Allen

Skip Allen, a Sales manager at OrthoPros, has a lifelong interest in helping people achieve their goals in being physically active. OrthoPros is a supply company that provides orthopedic devices for use in arthroplasty and sports medicine. Mr. Allen, a graduate in Exercise Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, enjoys finding ways to continue being physically active in his busy life. He is looking forward to connecting the right partners in 5th Gear Kids, to create a sustainable, vibrant and community-oriented program.

Wendy DeBell

Wendy DeBell is a third generation Colorado native and attended Colorado State University. She has a 20 year history working with the Cherry Creek School District as a volunteer and is currently in her sixth year as the Partnership Coordinator, as an employee for the district.

As a volunteer, Ms. DeBell served on the Board of Education for the Cherry Creek School District for ten years, until she was term limited. She served as board president for six years. During that period of time, Ms. DeBell served on the Colorado Association of School Boards, and was elected twice to the Board of Directors. Ms. DeBell was appointed by Governor Owens to serve on his Education Summit, and the Colorado Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Council. She also served on the Educare Public Policy Committee, a non-profit initiative partnering with parents and providers to improve the quality of childcare and early education for children. She served on a variety of committees at the local and state level sto promote the health and academic achievement for all children and has been a strong advocate for public education.

In her current role as Partnership Coordinator for Cherry Creek Schools, Ms. DeBell serves on the Board of Directors for the Aurora Rotary Club and their Foundation, and Leadership Aurora. She also serves on the Advisory Council for CSU Global, and has been a very involved member of the Southeast Metro Chamber STEM-EC group. In the Cherry Creek School District, Wendy serves on a variety of boards and committees focused on health and wellness including the Community Asset Project, an organization of parents, community and business leaders dedicated to ensuring that all children maximize their healthy life skills and academic potential. She is also the grant coordinator for the ACHIEVE/Thrive for Life grant, serves on the Wellness Advisory and Steering Committees which support our Family Wellness Summit, and serves on the First American State Bank Fitness Festival planning committee. In addition, she serves on many Cherry Creek School district committees including Parents’ Council, Long Range Planning, and the Multicultural Advisory Committee.

Wendy is married to Ralph, and together they have 2 daughters who have pursued careers in health related fields.